Our club got its start at the local Home Depot on Indiantown Road in Jupiter. Pat Dempsey said that in December of 1996 the manager there, challenged the Home Depot workers to come up with some way to give back something to the community of Jupiter, who had welcomed the new store into the area recently. Pat, an employee there, happened to be standing by the orchids when he heard this conversation, and thus came up with the suggestion of starting an orchid club.

The manager consented, andsaid he would give whatever was needed to get a club up and running. In January 1997, the signs were put up in Home Depot about orchid culture classes. Meetings were held between the ladders and lawn chair section.

Tim Polovina was in the HD to buy something one day in that January, and saw the signs telling of the classes. Tim, living in Jupiter, was an active member of the Orchid Society of the Palm Beaches, and was in training to become the OSPB president. Tim says he signed up to attend the HD class. After about the third one, Tim spoke with Pat Dempsey, the Home Depot employee presenting the orchid culture classes, and said he would be glad to help.

Soon, Tim was presenting the lectures and getting very involved helping the 30 to 40 regular attendees. As these classes evolved, Tim longed for a new club locally, wanting to start out with fresh ideas, and people who would have friendly socialization among themselves....maybe even have great cookies to eat during the meetings! The suggestion came from OSPB member, Harvey Fountain, that Tim should start a new orchid society, due to the number of regular HD class attendees. So, Tim and Pat, both having the same ideas about starting a local club, asked the people what they thought about starting an orchid society, and the majority said yes! Thus, JTOS was born!

HD was quite involved with getting people to attend the classes. They sent out mailings about the meetings, and offered raffle gifts to those present. I can recall at one orchid culture class, the prizes were books on caring for orchids. I wanted to win one so badly! The classes were a boost to the HD gardening department, who sold everything one needed to get started. But, local vendors wished to move the meetings away from HD, so they could become more involved. And, later, help they did, by speaking at the meetings without a fee, and donating orchids for the raffles. Planning to set up an independent JTOS would soon take place at Shoney's, while those involved sipped on coffee and presented their ideas.

The February 1999 Orchid Oracle says from these informal gatherings, the 30 or 40 regular attendees became the core members of JTOS. According to the July/August 1998 newsletter, the JTOS itself started in the summer of 1997, the founders thinking that by starting the club in the summer, the membership would be the permanent core to start up a club and not be a seasonal "snowbird" organization. The Orchid Oracle of September 1997 says that 60 people attended the second official JTOS meeting in August, at the Old Town Hall and there were 50 paid members. Then by November 1997 there were close to 100 members, growing to 137 according to the September/October 1998 newsletter, when the club had just passed its first birthday.

So, who were the people that were involved in the planning for the JTOS to become an independent organization? Patrick Dempsey and Tim Polovino shared the same vision about starting a local orchid club, and their enthusiasm soon got others involved. The Volume 1 Number 2, September, 1997 newsletter listed the temporary board as Judy Devine, Toni Diconstanza, Jeannie and Jimmy King, Theresa Kukey, Dolly Pollack-Rowell, Tim Polovino, Sheila Quinn, Thom Reinke, and Elaine Stepner, with Melinda Miller editing the newsletter. Over the next few months, the acting board started to get the various temporary officers and committees in action. Dolly became the acting treasurer, and Carolla Rathke took on the duty of greeter and chair of the social committee. Judy received classified ads for the newsletter, and Elaine volunteered to be the librarian. In November, 1997, Thom Reinke moved to North Carolina, and Bill Williams came to the temporary board, as did Bonnie Hammond, Alice Rienzo, and acting secretary, Denise Sessions. One of the many things that the people on the temporary board had to consider was a constitution and by-laws for the society. The Tropical Orchid Society had a good one, so this was used as a pattern to set up the rules for JTOS.

March 1998, JTOS members elected the officers and board. The board was Toni Diconstanza, Bonnie Hammond, and Jeanie King, as chair of refreshments, Theresa Kukey, Melinda Miller, as chair of the membership committee and also newsletter editor, Alice Rienzo, and Elaine Stepner, librarian. The officers were Tim Polovino, president, Bill Williams, vice president, Denise Sessions, secretary, Dolly Pollack-Rowell as treasurer. Thus JTOS was begun. The meetings were well attended and many people joined the club....not only to come and learn, but to share orchid wisdom with others. The great refreshments kept people coming back for more, and many new friendships were formed as well. The Old Town Hall was the site of the meetings.....Melinda worked for the Town of Jupiter and she was able to secure a night for the meetings to be held monthly there. The club members’ needs for learning continued to expand, and thus the club had to change with the needs.

Are you a founding member of JTOS? In the November, 1997, Orchid Oracle Newsletter, it is written that "all members of record (paid membership) as of November 1997 will be considered the founding members and be published as such". However, in all the searching of the past records that I have looked into, I haven't been able to find that list. So, I need your help to identify yourself. The people that were listed in this past July 2004 Orchid Oracle will definitely be considered the founding board and officers, and the JTOS creators. But who were the members? Do you remember coming to the first two meetings at the Old Town Hall and hearing Bob Cashens or John Opel speak on orchids? Do you remember the night when our leader, Tim Polovina, bade a sad farewell to his friend, Thom Reinke, who was moving away to North Carolina? According to the September/October 1998 newsletter, by November 1997 there were close to 100 members! Starting with the people mentioned already in the last newsletter, I would like to add your name to the list if you were indeed a founding member.

Tim Polovina, acting president, wanted to have a newsletter that was "very informative for our members and hopefully to make some nice trades for advertising for local growers. For now we're keeping it basic and trying to get something out every month for all members." "Plants to sell, good tips, questions, events at other clubs, interesting orchid tidbits that have happened to you." This was stated in the September 1997 issue. Melinda Miller answered the call to be the first editor of the newsletter. Melinda, who studied about orchids as she wrote the newsletter, would put things in her editions that she learned from the internet and the library, and books that she purchased. The first official mailing of the newsletter was November 1997 to very close to 100 members. There were monthly speaker profiles, news about activities, and the president's message. Also included monthly was an article called "Orchid Showcase" where a different type of orchid and its requirements would be taught. Melinda tried to encourage members to find out more about orchids by checking out websites she listed. "Orchid Classroom" was also a monthly article where people could ask questions and get answers. The newsletter had classified ads, received from members and submitted to columnist, Judy Devine. Judy also had a "Member Profile" article where each month she would interview a member and write up a story about the orchid enthusiast.

In September 1997 a name for the newsletter was solicited. "We need a name for our newsletter. The winner will receive 30 raffle tickets". The October 1997 newsletter listed the names that several members had submitted and a vote was taken that night at the meeting for the official name of the JTOS newsletter. The names voted on that night were.....Bloomin' Borderline, Flower Forum, Orchid Oracle, and Shadehouse Gazette. And, the winner was.....Orchid Oracle submitted by Jeanie King! This fabulous newsletter became quite an accomplishment! In the December 1999 issue, it is listed that newsletter volunteers at that time were Judy Devine and Shirley McCoy. Over the time that Melinda was editor, she put forth a valiant effort and set a standard that has been difficult to follow. There were others that wrote some of the articles and helped with the drawings and decorative appeal of the newsletter, but the majority rested on her shoulders. Melinda put it best in the December 1999 issue..."for those of you who may not realize it, putting together the newsletter is extremely time consuming. I spend a minimum of two weekends a month putting everything together. It takes a while to write everything, lay it out, etc. It has been a labor of learning and love on my part."

To "further our knowledge and friendship in orchids" is one of the reasons JTOS was established by the founding board. "We thank Mr. Joe Reeves of Tequesta for his wonderful contribution of books, magazines and information for our JTOS Club" wrote Elaine Stepner, in the November 1997 "Orchid Oracle". Thus, a great beginning for our library. Elaine was the first JTOS librarian, and she took on the responsibility for obtaining materials to achieve "our library goal: A reference Center to be proud of", she stated in the May/June 1998 newsletter. The board set up a budget just for this purpose and Elaine shopped well, getting the latest publishings about orchids. She then set up an efficient system where this material was then available to the JTOS membership to borrow.

"Our shows are getting better and better thanks to Bill Williams, he knows a whole bunch of people in the orchid business doesn't he?" is what Tim Polovina wrote in the July/August 1998 issue of the newsletter. These speakers whom Bill lined up furthered the learning of the JTOS members. But at times the equipment that we used was deficient. At the October 1998 meeting, a member, Muriel Manning, decided to take things into her own hands and turned a lowly shoebox into a money collection box for buying a projector. $85 was donated that night. 

The "Orchid Oracle" was indeed a superb publication being sent to the JTOS members via snail mail. For those with computer access, a JTOS website was offered as well. In the May/June 1998 newsletter, it tells of David Dodge, Dodge Communications, generously donating a website to our club. Various ways were available to all JTOS members to further their "knowledge in orchids", but the "friendship in orchids" definitely took place around the refreshment table and the variety of activities the JTOS members attended outside the meeting place.

“Our dessert table is absolutely keeping me from my diet plans", our past JTOS president, Tim Polovina, wrote in the July/August 1998, newsletter. Jeanie King, who got the refreshment table ready, had the knack for putting out the offering of foods and desserts brought in by members. And, she always had coffee and punch ready, too. Intermission brought a stampede of members there to get some delicious cookies, cakes and snacks. More often than not, Tim's "Cookie of the Month" award went to none other than Gloria Donahue! People got to know one another at the refreshment break, and it was made easier to learn names because of the name tags each member wore. Starting in April, 1999, these were designed and made by Bonnie Hammond. Activities the members did also allowed building a "friendship in orchids". There was a bus trip to the Miami Orchid Show in March of '98 and '99, as well as a trip to the Redlands Orchid Show in May of 1999.In April of 1998, JTOS held the club's first fund raiser....an orchid auction, and bulk supply order for club members at excellent prices. Each meeting the member plant table allowed us to see who grew great orchids, and we quickly learned those people's names and asked questions about their growing skills. The Holiday parties held in December always was full of food, fellowship and fun. April of 1999 offered a way for members to meet other members and have unlimited questions answered at a repotting session held at the home of Judy Devine.

JTOS was well on its way to becoming a great club. We applied for and received our American Orchid Society affiliation in May of 1998, and Judy Devine was the AOS representative. In June 1999, JTOS held an AOS benefit auction with the proceeds going to the AOS building fund. A check for $1000 was presented by us to them. It was said "Our unselfish donation will impact our part of the orchid community for the future exchange of orchid education to all our members." Yes, JTOS has in the past, and continues now in the present, to be able to do as our founding board wanted. They established the club on the idea to "further our knowledge and friends in orchids", and thus we continue on in that way!

Since its creation in 1996-1997, JTOS has flourished in both membership and involvement in activities. The newsletter, refreshment table, raffles, library, member plant show-time, speakers, name tags, website, AOS affiliation, and equipment bought and made for the club use, were the backbones to form our program. The people who had laid the groundwork for our club could see that it was going to thrive. Many of them, after volunteering their efforts, had been elected to their posts in February 1998 by the membership. In December, 1999, it was time for an election of others to take the club into the future.

In January of 2000, Judy Devine was president, Patrick Dempsey vice-president, treasurer, Janie Grussing, and Vivian Dodge served as secretary part of the year, after which Nancy Hensler became secretary . Board members were Tim Polovina, Kathryn Lundy, Denise Sessions, Peggy Shaw, Elaine Stepner, Bob Tilley, and Bob Winters. Marian Axley became the AOS representative in September 2000, as well as a director after Elaine Stepner vacated her spot.

In the December, 2000, "Orchid Oracle" Judy Devine summarized the year: " When I took office in January, 2000, the first order of business was to establish some committees where none had previously existed. These committees and their chairpersons are: Membership, Kathryn Lundy; Education, Bob Winters; Hospitality, Bob Tilley." Nancy Hensler made up the nametags, and Ruth Pifer took photos, while Diane Nichols put together a journal of JTOS special events. "Special events for the year were: entry of a table top exhibit in the Palm Beach Tropical Flower Show in February; a memorable bus trip to the S.F.O.S.'s show in Miami; a picnic at Jupiter Inlet Park in April; a plant clinic and repotting workshop at Old Town Hall in October; a "safari" to members homes and to two local nurseries in October; a very successful auction in November" she reported. "Monies were raised from the sale of supplies", "The bus trip to Miami, arranged by Kathy Bush, realized a profit of $175. Profits from picnic ticket sales and the silent auction totaled $750. Our final fund-raiser, the November auction, presided over by Director Bob Winters, resulted in our clearing $1500." "Approximately $200 was spent on books and AOS videos for our library. Thanks to Elaine Stepner's efforts on our behalf, a merchant in Miami donated a tiered plant stand for the exhibition of member's plants. A pole lamp to illuminate the plants cost $20 and change. Following the picnic, we purchased a public address system for $300." Donations JTOS made were to Martin County Orchid Society, Benjamin Kodama Award and Delray Beach Orchid Society. "Our membership has increased from 125 on January 1, 2000, to 188 as of November 15, 2000." Thus, another successful year for the club!

The 2001 year of JTOS starts off with a way to share our "Orchid Addiction". Nancy Hensler coordinates with the North Palm Beach Recreation Department to present an orchid workshop in January to educate attendees about the basics on some orchid varieties. It is such a success, another workshop is held in October on the same subjects. Newly elected JTOS president, Patrick Dempsey, is joined on the board by vice president, Ed Roche who is head of the program committee. The secretary is Nancy Hensler, and she also is in charge of the raffle ticket sales and orchid prize give-aways. The treasurer is Janie Grussing. Judy Devine is on the board since she is the past president, and she is joined by Peggy Shaw, membership chairperson as well as newsletter editor, and Bob Winters, the education headperson. Bob Tilley is in charge of special events. Other board members are Don Youatt and Gloria Donahue. Gloria is the telephone committee. Marian Axley continues as the AOS representative. And Christina Bieber is giving her time to be the librarian.

Besides the NPB orchid workshop that takes place in January and October, there are other activities in 2001. In March a bus trip is organized to go to the Miami Orchid Show. And, those who attend the April picnic eat well, and have fun visiting. They also buy and sell orchids, have repotting done, and buy supplies which are for sale. In May an orchid safari is taken to the AOS Headquarters, JEM Orchids, and Miramar Orchids. There are 39 people who went on the expedition. Again a safari is attended by many in November and this one goes to the north to Stuart/Palm City area, where the people visit some members homes and then go shopping at two nurseries....one of them that has about 10,000 orchids!

At the meetings Marian Axley offers to make arrangements to exhibit members orchid art. Gloria Donahue shows her collection of antique orchid plates in May and Marian exhibits her watercolor of C. Clark Herman "Chicago". In July, JTOS members and artists, Joan Greenberg and Bonnie Hammond, display their own orchid paintings. Besides introducing JTOS to the world of orchid art, Marian finds time to design our JTOS club poster and T-shirt. These T-shirts are offered for sale to us at JTOS. Work gets under way by Peggy Shaw to make a members directory. And, a "Cookie Jar Award" is established to show appreciation to those who bring in goodies....a separate orchid raffle only for those who bring in treats can win.

Programs in 2001 are quite assorted as to subject. In January Ed Roche identifies orchid pests and diseases. February, Nancy Priess from Laurel Orchids shows care of community pots, while Greg Allikas talks about bifoliate cattleyas in March. April, 2001, brings John Estes from Simply Orchids to the club to demonstrate orchid arranging in exhibits. Woody Robbins from Miramar Orchids went on a trip to the Bahamas and in May came to show slides of orchid species there. Being June, Kenni Judd tells of orchid care in the hot days of the good old summertime. Doug Gilbert visits in July to show us how to mount orchids. At the Old Town Hall in August, the regular meeting night turns into a workshop where repotting, orchid mounting, and teaching orchid care is done. September features JTOS member, Elaine Stepner, who urges all to "Get Your Head Out of The Pot", showing us alternatives for growing orchids other than putting them in orchid pots. October has a very successful orchid auction taking place, and the sale features a Ghost Orchid! A vendor came all the way from Tampa to teach in November. Paul Phelpps has magnificent orchids for sale and also shares insights on getting back to basics about orchid care. The holiday party in 2001 was a dessert smorgasbord! And besides eating well that night, all had lots of fun playing BINGO for decorated baskets of orchids! Seems like only yesterday that all these things occurred! We have had a great time in the years that JTOS has been in existence! Much is ahead for us!

2002 was a success for JTOS and gave ample opportunity to the members to learn about orchids, and share with others as well. The board of directors included Pat Dempsey as president, Janie Grussing as vice president and head of the program committee. Treasurer was Mimi Hodgkins, and the secretary seat continued to be held by Nancy Hensler. Other active board members were Peggy Shaw as chairman of the membership committee and the newsletter editor, Taimour Carey headed the education/special events, the AOS liaison remained Marian Axley. Gloria Donahue continued on the telephone committee and Don Yuott and Joan Greenberg held posts on the board as well. Peter Scheren was the chairman of the hospitality committee and saw that the refreshment table was always ready for hungry and thirsty people at the meetings. The speakers for 2002 included Bob Cashen from Cashen's Orchids, Kent Davis from Lazy Daze Orchids, Mark Edlund from Orchid Acres, and Todd Miller from Miller's Tropicals. They spoke about cattleyas, vandas, dendrobiums, and species, respectively. Other topics from speakers were: people who influenced orchid growing, orchid judging, slides from an orchid search trip to Venezuela, orchid basics, and potting media to use. These were presented by Milton Carpenter of Everglades Orchids, Arlene Maguire, Greg Allikas, Carolyn Saft, and Scott McNabb, respectively.

In February, 2002, JTOS set up a tabletop display of orchids at the Martin County Orchid Show. We won a trophy for the best educational exhibit and some of the members won individual awards, including the best phalaenopsis of the show which was shown by Henrietta Buck. March had us all getting together for the picnic, the silent auction and repotting clinic. On April 6 we shared our orchid knowledge by presenting a community event at the Crystal Tree Plaza in North Palm Beach, offering repotting, orchid lectures and sales, and having an orchid art display, as well as door prizes. May 18th we went in a bus to the Miami Orchid Show and accidentally took a tour of the downtown, as the bus driver got lost! Some people said they had not been to downtown Miami for years and really liked the accidental detour! August 10th had several members taking a safari to Belle Glade to visit Everglades Orchids, and then came back to the nearby vicinity and visited Juno Beach Orchids as well as a couple members home to see how they grew their orchids. In August, JTOS started awarding members plants with ribbons after being judged by a panel. The auction was held in November and the holiday party was a sharing of a variety of food brought in by members and then we played bingo for baskets of superbly arranged orchids. Each member attending received an orchid gift.

Throughout the year, supplies were offered for sale at meetings. Refreshments were served at each meeting. The library lent books to members and when the speakers had no orchids to sell at the meetings, JTOS members were invited to bring orchids to sell. Almost each month the newsletter was published. And, prior to some of the meetings, the speakers were met by some of the board members and taken to dinner.

At the year end of 2003 JTOS could boast of having 175 members! The officers for 2003 were Taimour Carey as president, and Janie Grussing and Peggy Shaw as the co-vice presidents, sharing the programming. Peggy also headed up the membership committee. Treasurer was Nancy Hensler, and Nancy Arcaro was the secretary and also did the librarian job. Mimi Hodgkins, Arlene Ross, Joanne Seaway, Ed Roche, and Pat Dempsey were on the board, as well as Gloria Donahue who chaired the telephone committee and Peter Scheren who was the hospitality chairman.

The year 2003 saw an active year for the members. In January a workshop was held at the Anchorage Park Activities Building in North Palm Beach. Lectures were given on cattleyas, vandas, dendrobiums, and phalaenopsis and we also demonstrated repotting and care of orchids. In February, and orchid exchange was established where members could bring in one of their orchids valued at $10 to $15 and exchange it for another member's orchid. On February 22nd a group of JTOS members carpooled to Turtle Pond Nursery, JEM and Orchid Acres. In April the annual picnic and silent auction was enjoyed by many. Orchid repotting was also offered. On April 24th, several members loaned orchids to the Jupiter Elementary School for a "rainforest activity". The children learned about orchids natural habitats, propagation techniques, and different types of orchids and their conservation. The month of May saw a new program... "Orchid of the Month Club"...which was started to offer members good plants from vendors for reasonable prices. Also in May the newsletter included an order form for members to purchase bulk supplies. And the By-laws committee presented changes to the rules of JTOS and they were adopted by the membership. The June newsletter spoke of an orchid sitting service list that some JTOS members wished to establish. This list would include those who were willing to help those who may be needing care while on vacation, or for other reasons.

September had a workshop where plants were repotted and mounted, and diagnosed as to disease if needed. Members were encouraged to sell orchids at this meeting, if they desired to do so. November was a busy month due to the election being held and also because of the annual orchid auction, where even though the lights went out temporarily, due to the weather, a successful auction was held. Arrangements were also in the works to move to a different meeting place for the JTOS membership meetings. This was determined to be at the Jupiter Elementary School starting in a few months. December had us celebrating the holidays by having a party and playing bingo for orchid prizes. It was also announced that JTOS was offering a trip to Costa Rica in May of 2004 for those members who were interested to go along. The details had been worked out by Arlene Ross as to where the trip would be, the various tours that would be offered to the orchid areas, and the hotels and transportation plans.

We had our usual spectacular speakers in 2003 and they were able to relay their knowledge on orchids to us members. Some fantastic pictures of orchids were presented in some of their programs. And others offered hands on demonstrations to help us learn. 2003 was another successful year for the Jupiter Tequesta Orchid Society, and was a great benefit for our members which made it well worth coming to the meetings to learn, and to chat with friends!